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English

Young people in Jordan are seeking to marry employed young women

5-2-2018

In its issue of today, Al Hayat newspapernoted that the decline in household income and the corresponding increase in costs of living in Jordan have prompted more women and girls to access the labor market and become a prime source of income for their family. This, Al Hayat wrote, has contributed to a higher demand on young employed women for marriage contrary to what was customary in the past, when an engaged girl had to quit her job after she gets wed in order to raise her family. On the subject, the newspaper spoke to human rights expert, Inaam Asha, who drew attention to the disparity in the attitude toward marriage to women with employment and a still lingering outlook which requires young women to stop working after engagement. Today, however, Asha explained, parents are themselves in the lookout for jobs for their own daughters contravening a past tradition which considers the mixed-sex workplace as a social taboo for girls. Citing official statistics, Asha indicated that the rate of participation of women in the labor market reached nearly 14%, while the rate of employment among women stood at 35%, noting that with a simple addition, the rate of potentially-productive women would constitute half of the Jordanian labor market. Nadia Ali (35 years) for her part, told Al Hayat that young men want to marry a working girl to split household expenses with the partner, adding that, some guys demand that their future partner be employed. For the full article, kindly visit the following link: https://goo.gl/CyRjvi. ((Al Hayat, February 5, 2018)

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Paula Yacubian joins 7 party and runs for Parliamentary elections

5-2-2018

Lebanese journalist Paula Yacubian disclosed this past weekend that she will be running for the Parliamentary elections set for May 2nd on the electoral list of the civil society 7 Party against the political list backed by Premier Saad Hariri. Yacubian, who will run for a seat in the first constituency of Beirut, said the main reason for her candidacy is the standstill in the country, particularly in terms of poor services, noting a serious crisis at the level of the nation and the political regime. Yacubian pointed out that the new electoral law will enable new civil society groups to become represented in the parliament, so as to bring about change in the political spectrum. In the same vain, the Minister of Information, Mel7hem Riachi, said on Saturday that presently, the main issue is to see women in the political arena to help develop society and create a new Levant, as he said. “Corruption is eating away at society, and what is more hazardous than corruption is nurturing corruption, and here women should be present and strongly,” Riachi said. The minister was speaking during the closing ceremony of Women in Front’s project ‘Yound LeaderShe’ funded by the Embassy of Netherlands. (L’Orient Le Jour, Al Diyar, February 5, 2018)

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Women learning English in Kamed el Loz

5-2-2018

In partnership with USPEaK community center and Kamed el Loz municipality, the Association for Development inaugurated last Thursday the Teaching Women English Program in the said town. The program, which is funded by the US Embassy in Beirut and implemented by USPEaK in all Lebanese regions, comes within the framework of empowering women socially and economically. On the occasion, Sawa president, Nawal Mdallali, said the activity is part of a plan by the Association to develop the capacities of women, with special focus on the West Beqaa area, to help them provide for themselves and their households. The program, she explained, includes training workshops on issues especially targeting the Beqaa women. For her part, USPEaK director and founder, Rawan Yaghi, said the program aims at strengthening women within their community through education and job creation, and covers 150 hours of teaching English in addition to other cultural activities. Similarly, the mayor of Kamed el Loz, Ahmad Saleh Sati, praised the program, while sustaining his municipality’s support for women’s rights and its coordination with various parties to help them acquire the necessary skills to help the community. (AL Mustaqbal, February 3, 2018)

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China interested in Kleiat airport, Beirut seat for its trade agency

2-2-2018

The revival of the Silk Road initiative linking China with Europe and the Arab region continues to be appealing. In this respect, the minister of state for the displaced, Mouein Merhbi, said that the Rene Mouwad Kleiat Airport could play a pivotal role in this direction, due to its strategic location that boasts exceptional logistic capabilities. As such, it will provide rare investment and economic related opportunities for Akkar and Lebanon through the creation of enormous job prospects, Merhbi said, stressing that many a foreign party has shown interest to this effect, namely the Chinese government. Merhbi was speaking during a ceremony held by the president of the Lebanese-Chinese Business Association, Ali Mahmoud Abdallah, in Adbel, Akkar in honor of the Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian and to celebrate the Chinese-funded IT lab at the Public Technical Institute of Takrit. The donation, to recall, comes as part of ‘the development of vocational education and support to our students and upgrading our institutes to the level of developed countries’. Meanwhile, Beirut was chosen on January 16 as the MENA headquarters for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) due to its strategic location in the Middle East, free economy and open investment climate, in addition to the logistic facilities Fransabank Group offered to the Council. To be noted, the CCPIT has 30 representative offices around the world and its job targets implementing national strategies for development, boosting foreign trade, bilateral investment and economic and technological cooperation, setting trade and economic policies, foreign trade negotiations, legal consultation, commercial and maritime arbitration and legal reconciliations. With its selection, Beirut becomes the sole representative of CCPIT in MENA, noting that the Dubai office only serves the Gulf region. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, January 17, 23, 2018)

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Agriculture represents 4% of GDP, 6% of domestic labor force

2-2-2018

The minister of agriculture, Ghazi Z3aiter, said yesterday that the agricultural sector constitutes a key source of income and employment in rural areas, representing nearly 4% of the GDP and 6% of the national labor force. Z3aiter pointed out that Lebanon is considered a main importer of agro-food products, particularly that made-in-Lebanon goods barely cover 20% of the local needs, noting that while the total surface area of arable land is 330,000 hectares, only 250,000 are exploited. Z3aiter was speaking during the launch in Beirut of the joint FAO-ESCWA ‘Prospects for Enhancing Food Security in the Arab Region’ report. Z3aiter revealed the rate of households suffering from food insecurity which is about 10% of the total number of households in the country, citing a 2015 study on household food security status. On the other hand, potato growers in Akkar held a broad meeting yesterday as a follow-up of the open meetings to address the recession in the Akkar agriculture season, securing markets for the local goods and halting the importation of the Egyptian potatoes. In this respect, the president of the Cooperative Association for Potato Farmers in Akkar, Omar Hayek, appealed to the prime minister to salvage this year’s harvest and protect farmers and their produce in order to avoid further escalation on their part. In Zahleh, agricultural syndicates called for a meeting in continuation of their protests against the year-round import of potato and onion from Egypt. Participants agreed to meet with the agriculture minister on February 4 in Baalbaq to take the right decision that best serves the Lebanese farmers, and therefore decided to call off the strike scheduled for today, February 2. (Al Mustaqbal, February 2, 2018)

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World Hijab Day, a call to combat intolerance and discrimination

2-2-2018

Women from different faiths and backgrounds around the globe celebrated yesterday the World Hijab Day which falls on February 1 of each year. The celebration is a collective call for all women to wear the hijab for a day in solidarity with Muslim women who are discriminated against for simply wearing a headscarf. A statement on the website promoting the event said the aim is to create a more peaceful world where citizens of the world, men and women, respect each other in order to combat intolerance, prejudice and discrimination against Muslim women. To recall, the initiative was founded back in 2013 by a Muslim American social activist, Nazma Khan, and is commemorated in more than 140 countries. On the Lebanese front, the prime minister reminded in a new circular issued yesterday all public sector departments and institutions as well as municipalities to respond to and accept all applications submitted by qualified citizens who meet the required conditions as stated by the law, including ‘muhajabat’ otherwise, they will be held accountable. The veil should not be an obstacle to their recruitment in state jobs as stipulated in the Constitution, particularly Articles 7 and 12, the circular said. For the reference, premier Saad Hariri on January 18 has issued a similar ordinance after the minister of state for administrative development affairs, Inaya Ezzedine, raised the subject about the ‘muhajabat who applied for jobs in the public sector but were asked to take off the hijab’. (Al Mustaqbal, February 2, 2018)

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New fund to support SMEs in the region

1-2-2018

The private equity fund management company in the MENA region, Emerging Investment Partners, announced that EIP Levant Fund, has received capital commitments from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is a member of the World Bank Group and from the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF). EIP said the fund, with a size of USD 50-60 million, will conclude the first phase of commitment in the first quarter of 2018, with the participation of regional and international investors. The EIP Levant Fund aims to deploy its capital in the first 3 to 4 years in 8 to 10 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, with USD 5-8 million investment in each project. To note, the EIP Fund is interested in targeting SMEs in a number of export-bound sectors that are resilient and able to grow in the midst of harsh economic conditions, including healthcare, education, agribusiness, industry, trade, supply and logistics. It will also contribute, through its investments, to making an impact on local communities through furthering economic development and job creation. EIP CEO said the company believes “in the valuable investment prospects in Lebanon and the region”, noting that it will select existing successful and high growth potential companies and help them to expand the scope of their businesses in the Middle East and North Africa. (Al Akhbar, Al Hayat, February 1, 2018) Previous related news: Nine of ten companies in Lebanon are SMEs http://www.weeportal-lb.org/news/nine-ten-companies-lebanon-are-smes Berytech to support SMEs with EU funding http://www.weeportal-lb.org/news/berytech-support-smes-eu-funding Roadmap to develop SMEs and for greater employment http://www.weeportal-lb.org/news/roadmap-develop-smes-and-greater-employment The Lebanese Women Angel Fund up and running http://www.weeportal-lb.org/news/lebanese-women-angel-fund-and-running

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First comprehensive labor force survey in Lebanon

1-2-2018

In cooperation with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the European Union (EU), and under the patronage of prime minister Saad Hariri, the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS) launched yesterday the first and largest “labor force and households’ living conditions survey” targeting 40,000 Lebanese families. The survey covers socio-economic, demographic, education and employment characteristics of household residents in Lebanon, as well as living conditions related to health insurance, disability and housing. Its importance lies in the fact that it is a means for formulating targeted and effective labor policies and information systems in the country due to the lack of documented and up-to-date data and analysis on the work and life conditions for Lebanon’s population, including displaced Syrians. During the launch, CAS director general Maral Tutelian, explained that the survey will provide significant amount of useful data on the living conditions of families and the workforce in Lebanon. This, she said, will facilitate for the first time provision of information on multiple indicators related to the labor force and living conditions on the Caza (district) level, and will for the first time provide data on the seasonality of labor. “These indicators are among the most important of those included in the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda which Lebanon committed to implementing and insuring indicators for all its items,” Tutelian maintained. For his part, EU head of operations Rein Nieland, pointed out that up-to-date statistics are required in order to produce better policies and make more efficient decisions. To be noted, that the field work will be carried out over an entire year. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Akhbar, February 1, 2018)

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German President’s wife calls for forcing men to support women!

31-1-2018

The Lebanese First Lady, Nadia Chami Aoun, brought together the wife of the German President Judge Elke Budenbender and a number of Lebanese women judges for a conversation at the Baabda Palace to exchange views and experience. Women present discussed their roles in defending women’s rights in Lebanon up to achieving the principle of gender equality and the various challenges they face in this regard. They also deliberated the role of the judiciary in sustaining the right of women to hold senior posts in the sector and in protecting women, underage girls and juveniles from violence and abuse. During the gathering, Budenbender who has an extensive experience in administrative courts, noted large similarity in figures between Lebanon and Germany in relation to the rate of women’s participation in the judiciary, including senior positions and court presidency (50%). She said women are naturally inclined to relinquish their career life for the sake of the family, despite that in Germany they enjoy long maternity leaves and fathers have their paternal leaves as well. Budenbender also pressed the need that men support their wives in this direction, and called for enforcing a women’s representation quota in Lebanon, referring to her country’s successful experience in this area after having forged a big change in the public sector. "We have to force men to support women, for the latter have the same aptitudes as men," she concluded. (Al Mustaqbal, January 31, 2018)

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Developing Leadership at Besancon

31-1-2018

The Educational Office at Ecole des Soeurs de la Charite-Besancon and Waznat Career Guidance and Consultancy launched yesterday the ‘Developing Leaders’ program targeting heads and coordinators of sections in schools in Beirut, Baabda, Kfur, Baabdat, Baskinta and Damascus. The program includes training on a set of life skills, administration and other tasks required in school education. The main headings are: communication skills in educational institutions, conflict resolution or management techniques inside schools and the theme ‘are there leaders in the educational world?’. On the occasion, the chief of the Educational Office at Besancon, Mirna Farah, told An Nahar newspaper, ‘Our school believes in the continuous process of upbringing’, adding, “we, as headmasters and educational coordinators are responsible towards the souls of thousands of students in our schools, and we want to extend to them, besides love and knowledge, all the skills required for their growth and preparation for college and career life.”. (An Nahar, January 31, 2018)

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